'Hope & Glory' is one of the best series around at the moment (although
we don't get much of it down here in Malta!) not least owing to its colourful
and engaging music drawn mainly from the mainstream classical repertoire.
We have all had the experience of a tune lodging involuntarily in our minds
so the idea of packaging all the main themes of the production into a CD,
although not new, is a laudable way to win classical converts. Do you remember
2001, A Space Odyssey? Being a huge fan of Lenny Henry (of Chef! fame), I
couldn't help but be drawn to these selections! There are some lovely
contributions here, especially the arrangement of Mozart's 'Rondo alla Turca'
from the Budapest Strings and a genial 'Kanon' with the Neues Bachissches
Collegium Musicum. The largest selection (for some strange reason) is drawn
from the Supraphon catalogue and includes a stodgy Third Movement from
Beethoven's Eighth under Vaclav Neumann and a dreamy Water Music Hornpipe
with the Budapest Strings. Not really top-drawer stuff but anyway. Otherwise
a well-filled compilation of excerpts that should add a few more classical
music lovers to the ranks!